Huayi Brothers and Wang Zhongjun, who bet on "Chasing Jade," have been restricted from spending again, involving a case amount of 1.89 million yuan.

Why does AI Huayi Brothers repeatedly trigger consumption restriction orders due to debt crises?

On March 19, Tianyancha APP showed that Huayi Brothers (300027.SZ) and its legal representative Wang Zhongjun recently received an additional consumption restriction order. The enforcement court is Beijing Chaoyang District People’s Court. According to case process information, the company has previously been enforced for over 1.89 million yuan in relation to this case.

Huayi Brothers has been subject to multiple consumption restrictions. In December last year, Huayi Brothers and Wang Zhongjun received an additional restriction order related to an advertising contract dispute, with Beijing Tairui Feike Technology Co., Ltd. as the applicant. The enforcement court was Beijing Chaoyang District People’s Court. The company had previously been enforced for over 11.4 million yuan.

Currently, Huayi Brothers has two enforcement records, with a total enforced amount of 76.6286 million yuan; there is also one historical enforcement record with an amount exceeding 11.4 million yuan.

Notably, Huayi Brothers has invested heavily in the currently popular TV drama “Zhu Yu.” According to Tianyancha APP, one of the producers of “Zhu Yu,” Zhejiang Dongyang Haohan Film and Television Entertainment Co., Ltd., is 49.25% owned by Huayi Brothers, with the actual controllers being Wang Zhongjun and Wang Zhonglei. Although “Zhu Yu” has achieved huge success in viewership data, whether it can help Huayi Brothers turn around remains to be seen.

Huayi Brothers was founded in November 2004, listed in 2009, and was once called “China’s No. 1 Entertainment Stock.” Its major shareholders and actual controllers are brothers Wang Zhongjun and Wang Zhonglei. At its peak, the company’s market value exceeded 90 billion yuan.

In recent years, Huayi Brothers has fallen into operational difficulties. From 2018 to 2024, the company incurred a cumulative loss of over 8.2 billion yuan. On January 30 this year, Huayi Brothers announced that it expects a net loss attributable to shareholders of 289 million to 407 million yuan in 2025.

Last November, the involvement of Wang Zhonglei and Wang Xiaorong in short videos and related topics drew attention. Some analysts believe this may be a prelude to live-streaming sales, which is driven by the company’s ongoing years of financial losses.

Currently, the company faces huge debts. On December 10 last year, Huayi Brothers announced that due to the impact of the economic situation and some receivables not being collected on time, the company experienced temporary liquidity tension, leading to some debts not being repaid as scheduled. According to the company’s relevant department’s verification, as of December 10, 2025, overdue debts with banks and financial institutions totaled 52.5 million yuan, exceeding 10% of the company’s audited net assets in 2024.

Additionally, Huayi Brothers disclosed that the company’s controlling shareholder and actual controller, Wang Zhongjun, has 153.92 million unrestricted circulating shares scheduled for a second judicial auction, accounting for 48.54% of his holdings in the company and 5.55% of the total share capital.

From 10 a.m. on December 8 to 10 a.m. on December 9 last year, Beijing Third Intermediate People’s Court auctioned 153.92 million unrestricted circulating shares of Huayi Brothers. The starting price was 2.23 yuan per share, totaling about 343.2 million yuan, with a deposit requirement of 0.15 yuan per share. The increment was 0.01 yuan per share, with a minimum bid of 3 million shares. The auction was ultimately unsuccessful.

Amid these operational difficulties, Alibaba has reduced its holdings. On December 17 last year, Huayi Brothers announced that Alibaba Venture Capital had sold shares through block trading on that day, causing changes in Alibaba Venture Capital’s and Jack Ma’s holdings that reached multiples of 1% and 5%. Alibaba Venture Capital’s shareholding decreased from 3.467799% to 2.403580%, and Jack Ma’s holdings decreased from 6.064215% to 4.999996%. After this change, Alibaba Venture Capital and Jack Ma no longer hold more than 5% of Huayi Brothers’ shares.

As of the close on the morning of March 19, Huayi Brothers’ stock price was 1.62 yuan per share, down 1.82%, with a market value of 4.495 billion yuan.